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Southampton 2 Stoke 0: Wizard Walcott steals show

TO SCORE in each of your first three full appearances is some going. To do so at the age of 16 would be to draw interest from some of the leading clubs in the game, if that was not happening already.

Theo Walcott has achieved all this and, perhaps owing to his precocity, was struck in the face by Marlon Broomes in the first half.

Walcott’s first goal was against Leeds at Elland Road, where he became Southampton’s youngest scorer. His second came at Millwall last weekend when, as now, he was left with just the goalkeeper to beat. On that occasion he went round him before finishing; yesterday, receiving a pass from Nigel Quashie, he beat Steve Simonsen with a low shot.

Much more of this and Walcott’s agent will be repeating his rather presumptuous remarks about a move to a bigger club — Arsenal are thought to be interested